Today I landed on some new ideas that we pray may be of use for my recovery from this serious illness. I’ll let you read it for yourself. Lord willing, I will get well soon! Take care Gentle Readers and Godspeed. I am praying for you too this day. With love, JJ

Seizure attacks kept me up all night last night and my sleep cycle is now upside down again. I had to stop the Buck Shot (i.e. nutritional injection) due to numbness in my right hip that has yet to resolve; ruling out this week if there is any possibility that it is the Thyroidea. I have not slept since yesterday.

The “Holy Cow” moment came as follows. Lying in bed unable to sleep I realized that my dog eats Canadian goose poop on occasion. I researched parasites/infections from goose poop and only toxoplasmosis seemed to be an infection that I could have gotten from her. Sometimes my stool smells like hers!

Of interest were the remarks about hepatitis in acute toxoplasmosis infection (yes, October 11, 2011 this illness began with viral hepatitis after contaminated reservoir water exposure) and the effect the parasite can have on a variety of brain cells including astrocytes and neurons. In a study involving 17 countries, cryptogenic (no known cause) epilepsy is 4.8 times more prevalent among toxoplasma seropositive persons. “There are evidences that t. gondii infection has the greatest impacts on the hippocampus and amygdala. And get this:

“Another likely hypothesis which t. gondii could cause neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, is modulation of different neurotranmitters especially dopamine in brain by the parasite (reference). The t. gondii genome is known to contain 22 aromatic amino acid hydroxylases that potentially could directly affect dopamine and/or serotoinin biosynthesis.”

Are not phenylalanine, tryptophan, and tyrosine AAAs? (My naturopath has prescribed phenylalanine to help with dopamine trafficking!)

AND NOW FOR A REFERENCE TO AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS: “There is evidence that t. gondii infected astrocytes and microglial cells release of IL-1a, IL-6, and granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). On the other hand, IL-6 may mediate the exacerbation of autoimmune disorders in the CNS; in addition, there is strong association between IL-6 and neurotransmitter production (ref). Furthermore, in vitro stimulation of neurons to secrete dopamine and probably other catecholamines by IL-6 were also reported (ref).” [Multiple brands of GABA made me worse. I was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder.]

RELATED TO MY STATEMENT ON FACEBOOK (to my naturopath) THAT 5-HTP MADE SEIZURES WORSE: “On the other hand tryptophan is an essential amino acid for t. gondii replication (ref).”

Kynurenic Acid (KYNA) was 12.5 on my last Nutreval (normal is below 7.1) “Astrocytes play a pivotal role in the production of KYNA in the CNS, because astrocytes are the main source of KYNA (ref). Likewise, astrocytes are one of the most important cells that invade by t. gondii . . .” [Holy cow.]

JUST WHEN IT COULD NOT GET ANY CLEARER, READ THIS FROM ANOTHER SOURCE AS NOTED BELOW:

“The genome of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii was found to contain two genes encoding tyrosine hydroxylase; that produces l-DOPA. The encoded enzymes metabolize phenylalanine as well as tyrosine with substrate preference for tyrosine. Thus the enzymes catabolize phenylalanine to tyrosine and tyrosine to l-DOPA.”

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.

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Disclaimer

Gentle Reader: I'm writing this blog to share my story, to instill hope, and for general informational purposes only. This blog is not intended as, nor should it be considered a substitute for, professional, legal, or medical advice. Take care, JJ